What Hispanic people – and everyone – should know about clinical trials

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尽管发展迅速, the Hispanic and Latino population in the United States continues to be underrepresented in clinical trials designed to help prevent and treat diseases.

西班牙裔约占全国人口的19%, 人口普查数据显示, 但他们只代表了美国金融市场参与者的一小部分.S. 研究研究，博士说. 全场9 L. 爱丝特雷娜, 流行病学系的助理教授, human genetics and environmental sciences at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health in Brownsville, 德州.

西班牙裔仅占研究参与者的1% 美国国立卫生研究院的报告 in 2015. 发表在 美国心脏协会杂志 in 2020 found that Hispanic people made up just 11% of clinical trial participants for cardiometabolic medications seeking Food and Drug Administration approval from 2008 to 2017.

"This is a concern because Latinos have a higher burden of disease than other groups," 爱丝特雷娜说.

A 2015年疾病控制和预防中心报告 found that Hispanic people face disproportionately higher death rates from some health conditions, 包括糖尿病, and a higher prevalence of obesity and uncontrolled high blood pressure – all of which can contribute to heart disease.

Participating in clinical studies can help to determine if new treatments work well in Latino people and other racial and ethnic groups, 爱丝特雷娜说. 如果他们在研究中有代表性, "then that provides a basis for the treatment and to know that it's going to work not only for non-Hispanic white populations, 也包括西班牙裔拉丁裔人口."

专家回答了关于临床试验的五个常见问题.

参与者可以期待什么?

一旦志愿者参加了一项研究, researchers walk them through the process and provide information about the study, 它的目的和参与需要什么, 爱丝特雷娜说.

“一开始可能会有点吓人, 但这是一个非常简单的过程,她说.

试验通常在学术环境或诊所进行, 它可以持续几周到一年甚至更长线上电子游戏飞禽走兽, 爱丝特雷娜说. If volunteers are unable to continue participating or don't feel comfortable doing so, 他们可以随时退学.

临床试验的重要性是什么?

The development of medical treatments for different health conditions can depend on clinical trials, 爱丝特雷娜说. 新药的安全性和有效性研究, 例如, can result in innovative treatment options that can not only help volunteers but also benefit other patients.

临床试验也可以测试筛查或行为干预. “例如, people can be asked to follow a certain diet to see its impact on blood pressure,”医生说。. 大卫X. 马尔克斯, a professor in the department of kinesiology and nutrition at the University of Illinois Chicago.

临床试验安全吗??

埃斯特雷拉说，安全是最重要的. Approved clinical trials already have been through many steps to indicate that the treatment being tested is based on sound science. “当我们平衡不同的风险与收益时, 利大于弊,她说.

临床试验, 马尔克斯说, 包括保障措施, 比如独立的监督委员会, 确保志愿者在整个过程中的安全. 如果有任何东西被认为有潜在的危害，试验就会停止.

我真的有帮助吗??

“这绝对有帮助，”马尔克斯说. “如果人们不参加临床试验, 我们怎么知道一种药是否有效, 正确的? If it works on animals, that doesn't necessarily mean it's going to work on humans. 没有参与者，我们什么都不知道."

马尔克斯 and 爱丝特雷娜 agreed that greater representation of Latino people in clinical trials could help break down barriers, such as mistrust of the medical system and misconceptions about clinical research. 他们说，这也有助于实现卫生公平.

More Hispanic volunteers in clinical trials "can really make a difference," 爱丝特雷娜说.

超过16,000名西班牙裔成年人参加了该计划 西班牙裔社区健康研究/拉丁裔研究, the largest study of the health of Hispanic and Latino adults in the United States. In addition, Hispanic people make up 16% of participants in the NIH's 我们所有人都学习, which hopes to enroll 1 million people from all backgrounds to gather data on how biological, 生活方式和环境因素影响人们的健康.

我从哪里可以得到更多的信息?

The NIH maintains an online database of clinical research studies that are currently enrolling, 正在进行还是已经完成, 以及其他信息, at 临床试验.政府.

Experts say people should talk to their health care professional if they're interested in joining a clinical trial.